Government cannot restrict corporations from spending money to influence political campaigns, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in an opinion that immediately reverberated across the political landscape.

Senate Democrats have reached a tentative deal on the divisive issue of government-run health insurance, a development that bolstered chances for health care legislation passing this year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday.

A divided Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a revised version of the nation's major counterterrorism law, after intelligence and law enforcement officials assured lawmakers that counterterrorism operations would not be harmed.

The latest skirmish between conservatives and the Obama administration is the proliferation of "czars" named by the president to handle pressing issues. It is prompting efforts in Congress to put limits on the White House.